Class Notes

1950sEdgar J. Beck, BS ’54, is a retired chemical research scientist who worked for 34 years for Union Carbide/Dow Chemical. He invented and holds patents on the first commercial, high-strength, graphite yarn fibers. A member of the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame for tennis, he has been playing the game for 75 years. He lives in Fairview Park.George Landgrabe, BS ’59, is retired and lives in Maitland, Fla. The former captain of the Fenn swim team has been scuba diving around the world for 60 years. His son, Gary, has joined him in the sport for 43 years; two grandchildren also dive with him.

1970sJohn Hubbard, BSME ’70 and MBA ’73, received the Hephaestus Award in recognition of his contributions to the field of heat treating. His entire career was spent in the thermal processing industry. Under his leadership, Bodycote became the world’s leading provider of thermal processing services.Thomas Gombarcik, BA ’72, was named Employee of the Year at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. The St. Petersburg, Fla. resident has been a deliveries supply clerk for more than 25 years.James C. Schwab, BA ’73, was named to the prestigious American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows for his outstanding achievements in urban planning. SInce 2008, he has been manager of the American Planning Association’s Hazards Planning Center, where he has played a central role in creating and shaping a new subfield of professional planning.Jerry Landau, JD ’75, was elected a public member of the board of directors of the Federation of State Medical Boards. The Phoenix resident is the government affairs director for the Arizona Supreme Court.Jose Feliciano, JD ’75 and MBA ’84, and Jose Villanueva, BA ’76, were honored by the city of Cleveland during Hispanic Heritage Month. Feliciano is the former chief prosecutor for the city and a former Cuyahoga County public defender. He is the founder of the Ohio Hispanic Bar Association. Villanueva is a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge.Debra Green, BA ’78, director of community outreach for Medical Mutual of Ohio, is a Crain’s Cleveland Business 2016 “Woman of Note.”Dennis Lansdowne, BA ’78 and JD ’81, was selected for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He has been an attorney with Spangenberg Shibley and Liber LLP in Cleveland since 1985 and has been a partner since 1990.
Linda Geca Barath, BBA ’79, retired after 36 years with the Internal Revenue Service. She keeps busy by vacationing and volunteering with her church, nonprofits and the CSU chapter of Theta Phi Alpha, for which she was a founder 37 years ago.Thomas H. Craft, BBA ’79, has been recognized as a member of the President’s Cabinet of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corporation/Sagemark Consulting. Members are top performers selected from Lincoln’s national network of advisors.Jeffrey Rolf, BSME ’79 and MBA ’85, is the new president and CEO of the Cleveland-based Ohio Aerospace Institute. He most recently served as vice president of commercial airframes, business development, for Parker Hannifin Aerospace. Rolf previously served as chair and is a current industry member of the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Council, and he’s a charter member of the Ohio Legislature’s Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee.

1980sWilliam R. Cervenik, BBA ’80, was named president of Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. For the past 12 years, he served as mayor of the city of Euclid. Cervenik is a 1972 graduate of St. Joseph, which merged with Villa Angela in 1990.Dee Perry, BA ’81, retired after 40 years as a radio broadcaster, including 20 years as host of Sound of Applause on WCPN-FM.
Janis Lyons, BBA ’81 and MBA ’85, was named chief financial officer of the Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio. She previously held leadership positions at PNC Financial Services Group.Rosa Maria DelVecchio, BA ’82 and MA ’84, is a literary writer and editor for Cyberwit Publishers in India. She recently edited That’s the Way Blood Trickles, a first novel in a four-book fantasy series. She lives in Brooklyn, Ohio.Joseph F. Badger, BA ’83, is the director of human resources at Bravo Wellness.Christine K. Kastner, BA ’83, is a freelance writer, editor and author of two books, Soldiering On, Finding My Homes — Memoir of an Army Brat and Looking for the Meneki-Neko Love Hotel.Linda Lehmann Masek, MA ’83, lives in Northfield. Her eighth book, Tales from the Buckeye State, was recently published.Marilyn Tobocman, JD ’83, was featured in Crain’s Cleveland Business´ “8 Over 80” story about seniors who are still making a mark on Northeast Ohio’s business, civic and philanthropic circles. Tobocman, age 82, is an attorney with the Ohio Attorney General’s civil rights division and carries the same workload as she did when she took the job more than two decades ago.Kevin Lynch, BA ’84, is a reporter for The Daily Record in Millersburg, Ohio. His first book, Bring Home a Winner, Memoir of a 25-Year Journalism Career, chronicles a sports-writing career that has taken him from covering the World Series in Cleveland to Little League fields in and around East Central Ohio, with stops in high school gymnasiums from Athens to Columbus and beyond.Nancy Wiegand Lyon, BBA ’84, is the first-ever director of finance and administration at Event Source, an event rental company. She oversees the information technology, human resources, accounting and purchasing departments. She most recently was the controller for a local corrugated packaging distributor serving northern Ohio.Kevin Goodman, BA ’85, was honored by Ohio Cancer Research at its 2016 Star Award Gala. He is the managing director of BlueBridge Networks. CSU President Ronald M. Berkman was also honored at the event.David Spelic, BS ’85, is a physicist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. He was recently elected as a member of the National Council of Radiation Protection and Measurements.Cynthia Weiskittel, BA ’85 and MPA ’00, was named director of the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services. She has been with the agency for 30 years, most recently as deputy director of direct services.
Lucinda Einhouse, MBA ’86, was named the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce 2016 Business Person of the Year. The Lakewood resident has been president and CEO of Beck Center for the Arts since 2007.Dan Polk, BA ’88, was named to the Brunswick High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. The 1982 graduate is vice president of sales at Medical Mutual. A singer/guitarist and half of the Parsons and Polk duo, he has performed the National Anthem at Indians, Browns and Cavs games and at the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement dinner.Lisa Rose, BBA ’88, was named president of Dix & Eaton. She has been with the firm since 1996, most recently as senior managing director. She also is a Crain’s Cleveland Business 2016 “Woman of Note.”Douglas J. Smorag, MBA ’88, received the 2016 University Hospitals’ Distinguished Advisor Award. He is the senior vice president, chief financial officer and director of CM Wealth Advisors and has been with the firm since 1998.

1990sWard J. Dumm, BSME ’91, was promoted to vice president of continuous improvement and quality at Swagelok Company. He has been with the firm since 1991 and most recently served as director of manufacturing strategies and engineering systems. He lives in Chardon.Mark E. Avsec, BA ’92 and JD ’95, was appointed to a three-year term on the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture board of trustees. He also was recently named among Crain’s Cleveland Business’ “Who to Watch in Law.” The Broadview Heights resident is a partner with Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP and a Grammy-nominated musician.Robyn Gordon, BBA ’92 and MBA ’96, director of center operations, NASA Glenn Research Center is a Crain’s Cleveland Business 2016 “Woman of Note.”Liza Grossman, BMusic ’93, was a 2016 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize. The violinist, conductor and educator is the founder of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra. She has conducted more than 500 world premieres, including 10 concertos with members of the Cleveland Orchestra, numerous works by professional, emerging composers and hundreds of orchestral rock works.Keith Manos, MA ’93, is a novelist, adjunct professor and educational consultant who lives in Willowick. His debut novel, My Last Year of Life (in School), is a semi-autobiographical story told in a diary/epistolary format about a teacher during his last year in the classroom.Donald F. Ronyak, Jr., MLRHR ’93, participated in “Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies” at Harvard’s Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. The program included participants from 14 countries and focused on good government. Ronyak is the deputy director of human relations for the Colorado Department of Revenue.Sangy Vatsa, MCIS ’93, joined Comerica Bank as executive vice president and chief technology officer. For the past decade he has worked for American Express as chief information officer.Tammy Georgian, BA ’93 and JD ’96, is an administrative law judge in the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in Charleston, S.C.John M. Coyne III, MBA/JD ’94, was selected for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He is a partner with the Roetzel law firm.Daniel Raynor, BA ’94, joined Associated Bank as senior relationship manager in the Insurance Industry Banking Group. He has more than 20 years of experience in banking and insurance.Amy Roediger, MEd ’94, received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. An educator for 25 years, she has spent the past two decades teaching chemistry at Mentor High School. A speech and debate coach, she recently was inducted into the Ohio High School Speech League’s Hall of Fame.Shari Wilkins, BA ’94, is the founder and director of the Cleveland Print Room, an area in the ArtCraft Building that celebrates and preserves the equipment and processes of traditional photography.Stephanie Eafford, BEd ’94 and MEd ’00, is the principal of Steel Academy in Akron. The grade 6-12 school serves students with ADHA, autism spectrum disorders, gifted students and others with learning differences. Her 20 years as an educator includes stints as a principal with the Warrensville Heights Schools and principal, vice principal and teacher in the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools.Jennifer L. Bartlett, BSN ’95, was selected as a member of the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program, an outreach program of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia to improve the quality of instruction in that state’s colleges and universities. Dr. Bartlett is an assistant professor in Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.Jeremy Bleich, BA ’95, teaches music at Artsmart New Mexico and develops operettas for children as a composer-in-residence through The Santa Fe Opera.Alan K. Nevel, BA ’96, is vice president of global diversity and inclusion for Thermo Fisher Scientific.Jonathan M. Banta, MBA ’97, is the executive vice president of the Dermatology & Skin Cancer Surgery Center in McKinney, TX.Sonya Pryor-Jones, MEd ’97, was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change. She is the chief implementation officer for the Fab Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to technology.Dalithia C. Smith, MBA ’97, was promoted to vice president, human resources, at Lincoln Electric Co. She joined the firm in 2007 and most recently served as director, North America human resources.Edward M. Crouse, MBA ’98, was promoted to vice president, Cleveland operations, at Lincoln Electric Co. He joined the firm in 1986 and most recently served as general manager, consumables.John Hinkel, BA ’98, was re-elected to a city council position in the city of Fairview Park. He is a business analyst specializing in information technology for KeyBank.Kirk Jones, MBA ’98, was promoted to chief financial officer of Benchmark Hospitality International. He joined the firm in 2015 as senior vice president for finance. In May, Jones received the Distinguished Alumni Award from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he earned his undergraduate degree in hotel administration. Jones lives in the Houston area.Joelle Magyar, MEd ’98, was named superintendent of the Brecksville-Broadview Heights school district. She previously served as assistant superintendent for the Brunswick and Mayfield school districts.Matthew Scherer, BBA ‘98, is the president of PMAgroup, a dental transition firm located in Northeast Ohio.Mary Rose Sylvester, MBA ’98, president and CEO of Current Powered by GE, and Nancy Tinsley, MBA ’98, president of University Hospitals’ Parma Medical Center, were honored by the YWCA of Northeast Ohio with the Women of Achievement award. Tinsley is also a Crain’s Cleveland Business 2016 “Woman of Note.”Jonathan P. Beck, BA ’99, is U.S. director of operations for Kids & Company in Chicago.Anita Bradley, MA ’99, was honored by the White House as a Champion of Change. She is the founder and executive director of the Northern Ohio Recovery Association.Matthew Svec, JD ’99, joined Barrister Title Group, based in Mansfield and Ashland, as vice president and assistant general counsel.Kate Toohig, BA ’99, was promoted to director of fitness, wellness and recreation at the Mandel Jewish Community Center. She has worked there for eight years as group fitness instructor and manager. She lives in Orange.Melissa D. Watson, MEd ’99, was appointed superintendent of the Ashtabula Area city schools. She lives in Howland, Ohio and was superintendent of the East Liverpool schools for the past two years.

2000sCrystal Franklin, MEd ’00, was invited to discuss her work as an international activist for people living with HIV/AIDS at the White House’s United State of Women Summit.Stephanie Jansky, BA ’00 and MA ’02, is the director of programming for the City Club of Cleveland. She was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in the 2015 class of 40 under 40.Sharyna C. Cloud, MPA ’02, is the new director of the Cleveland Peacekeepers Alliance. The Bedford resident most recently was a project director for the city of Cleveland’s Community Relations Board.Gina DeSantis, BA ’02, is the owner of Gina DeSantis Ceramics, specializing in creating high-end handcrafted ceramic wares.Sarah Flannery, JD ’02, is a recipient of the 2016 Crain’s Cleveland Business 40 Under 40 award. The Thompson Hine LLP partner serves as secretary of the CSU Alumni Association.Nayeem Sayed, MSEE ’02, joined the Milwaukee office of Mortara Instrument, Inc. as director of downstream marketing for the Americas. Most recently, he was senior marketing manager for GE Healthcare.Donna Day, BEd ’02 and MEd ’04, is an assistant volleyball coach at Niagara University in New York. For eight seasons, she coached volleyball at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike.Erica Deutsch, BA ’03, is the sales and marketing manager at Studio Graphique in Cleveland.Kathy Miller, MPA ’04, was appointed to the Ohio Electoral College for the November presidential election. She was the volunteer Trump campaign chair for Mahoning County. A real estate broker and appraiser in Youngstown, she served for eight years as a trustee for Boardman Township.Holly L. Bensky, BS ’05, was certified as a registered microbiologist in pharmaceutical and medical device microbiology by the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists. She works for STERIS Corporation in Mentor.Julie Hutchison, BA ’05, is the co-owner of The Root Café in Lakewood. The café was named the best vegetarian restaurant in the region by the Cleveland Hot List in 2015 and was selected by MSNBC as the site for a live broadcast during the 2016 Ohio Presidential Primary. Hutchison leads a cultural exchange between U.S. and Cuban artists and will be taking a group of musicians and dancers to Cuba in May 2017 for the Guarapachanga Music Festival in Pinar Del Rio.Kelly C. Morgan, MBA ’06 and JD ’14, joined the Cleveland office of Benesch as an associate in the corporate and securities practice group.Carlos Alvarez, BA ’07, is an artist whose work has been displayed in galleries across the country.LaDavia Drane, JD ’07, is director of African-American outreach for Hillary Clinton. She is the former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus.Elizabeth Evans, MBA/JD ’07, general counsel, Republic Steel, is a Crain’s Cleveland Business 2016 “Woman of Note.”Matt Kirksey, BA ’07, joined The Ohio State University at Lima as coordinator of financial aid. For the past three years he was financial services director and business office manager at Miami-Jacobs Career College.David Schindler, MED ’07, was named principal of Erieview Elementary School in Avon Lake. His career includes 18 years with the Positive Education Program for students with special needs in Cleveland. He lives in Avon Lake.Crystal M. Duplay, JD ’08, joined the law offices of Timothy M. Sullivan.Brittany Neal-Agnew, BEd ’08, received an award of excellence in teaching from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She is in her second year of teaching first grade at Bolden Elementary School. She lives in Oakwood.George E. Yanulis, D.Eng ’08, is the president and owner of Medical Device Consulting LLC, has been appointed to the Bioengineering Department at Temple University as an adjunct professor and has served as an expert witness for medical device liability cases and in the development of a cardiac pressure sensing system.Paul Infield, BS ’09, was invited by the U.S. Olympic Committee to be on the medical staff of the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. The doctor of chiropractic, who practices in Euclid, worked with the Team USA bobsled, luge and skeleton teams for two weeks this fall.Erin Dee Huber, BSES ’09 and MSUS ’11, was featured in Cleveland Scene’s annual people edition. She was singled out for her work to provide the world access to clean water as founder and executive director of Drink Local. Drink Tap. In 2012, Huber received CSU’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

2010sAlana Jochum, JD ’10, was named executive director of Equality Ohio. She also was recently named among Crain’s Cleveland Business’ “Who to Watch in Law.” She is a member of the CSU Alumni Association board of directors.Alysia Rogers, BA ’10, is a production assistant for Brunswick Area Television, a cable access channel, and a substitute teacher. She was featured in the Plain Dealer’s Fashion Flash section.Myesha Watkins Crowe, BA ’10 and MA ’14, was named director of the Broadway Boys & Girls Club in Cleveland’s Slavic Village.Joseph Neal, BA ’11, is a security officer for Garner Assess Protection. He lives in Cleveland.Achille Nicoletti, BS ’11, BSEE ’11 and MSEE ’12, is a doctoral fellow at CERN, the top laboratory in the world for particle physics, located on the border of France and Switzerland.Chaitanya Lomte, BSME ’11 and MSME ’13, joined Roll-Kraft as a mechanical engineer. Most recently, he was a design engineer at GE Lighting.Matthew Hrubey, MPA ’12, was appointed to the Fairview Park school board. He is a grants coordinator for Cuyahoga County.Lachaka Askew, BA ’12 and MS ’14, is a Cleveland-area minister and founder of an interfaith dialogue group that works to bridge religious and cultural divides between foreign and domestic non-Christians.Jennifer L. Katzakis, JD ’13, joined the Cleveland office of Benesch as an associate in the real estate and environmental practice group.Marchel’e Davis, MEd ’14, is a personal stylist and the owner/CEO of Elements of Style by Marchel’e.AnnMarie Gilbert, MEd ’14, was named the 2015-16 Big House Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. She also was honored as the Advocate for Athletic Equity Division II Coach of the Year. During her first year as head coach of the Lady Panthers of Virginia Union University, she guided the team to a historic 28-win season and a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament’s Elite Eight. Gilbert was the head coach at Eastern Michigan University for five years.Rachel E. Gruic, MUPDD ’15, is the head of the drafting technology department at Savannah Technical College.Bo Zhang, MACT ’15, is the Chinese translator for Cavs home games for Sohu, a Chinese media and internet company.

In Memoriam CSU DeathsDavid Herlacher in December 2015. An associate professor emeritus
of mathematics, he joined the faculty of Fenn College in 1955 and retired from
CSU in 1985.

Arthur R. Landever in April 2016. Professor Emeritus Landever joined
C|M|LAW in 1972, retired in 2007, and then taught political science as a
part-time faculty member for three more years.

John A.C. Greppin in May 2016. Internationally known for his Classical Armenian scholarship, he founded the Annual of Armenian Linguistics and edited it for 25 years. The professor emeritus taught at CSU from 1975 to 2010.

Louis A. Tuzi, JD ’55, in May 2016. A professor emeritus of engineering, Dr. Tuzi retired in 1993 after 31 years as a faculty member. He also served as the law director of Northfield Village.

Danferd C. Avis, BBA ’51, in July 2016. A Viking basketball player who is enshrined in the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame, Mr. Avis established the Danferd C. Avis Endowed Men’s Basketball Scholarship. He served as Alumni Association board president, Varsity C executive director, and in other leadership roles and was the first recipient of the George B. Davis Award for Service to the University.

Klaus-Peter Hinze in July 2016. During his 31 years at CSU, Dr. Hinze taught German and chaired the modern languages department. The professor emeritus retired in 2002.

Michael Williams in July 2016. For the past 12 years, Dr. Williams served as director of CSU’s Black Studies Program. Under his leadership, CSU started its bachelor’s degree in Black Studies academic program in 2010. He joined the University in 1985 as a faculty member in social work.

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CSU mourns the loss of two political greats who also were great friends of the University.

George V. Voinovich, honorary Doctor of Laws ’04, passed away in June 2016. Mr. Voinovich spent his life in public service to the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the nation.

His illustrious career includes member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Cuyahoga County commissioner, county auditor, and lieutenant governor of Ohio. Mr. Voinovich served as mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989, governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and U.S. Senator from 1999 to 2011.

A longtime senior fellow in CSU’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, he was a key advisor to CSU leadership. In 1989, he received CSU’s In Tribute to the Public Service award.

Steven LaTourette, JD ’79 and honorary Doctor of Laws ’05, passed away in August 2016. Mr. LaTourette was a public defender, Lake County prosecutor, and 18-year member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

He served on the C|M|LAW National Advisory Board and established the Steven C. LaTourette Graduate Public Interest Fellowship at the law school. He received CSU’s In Tribute to the Public Service award in 2013.